


Protector

by rankyaku



Series: One Piece Reader Inserts [6]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Multi, Spoilers, bring on the waterworks, more angst than fluff tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-18 08:17:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21541228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rankyaku/pseuds/rankyaku
Summary: "And maybe if I wait long enough, he’ll come riding over the horizon on his striker and everything will be fine again. I think I’m wishing for too much though.”
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Reader
Series: One Piece Reader Inserts [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1543588
Comments: 1
Kudos: 59





	Protector

**Author's Note:**

> i wanted to take a look into how luffy probably felt after losing ace, and how badly it must have shaken him up inside. you can see the way he just snaps after ace takes his last breath and i know for sure he wouldnt have healed in just those two years.
> 
> sorry if this makes you cry, it made me cry just writing it :(

You yawned, stretching your arms as you walked out onto the deck of the Thousand Sunny. Catching a glimpse of Sanji as he twirled away from Nami and Robin, you chuckled a little. Nami caught your eye and waved you over, handing you some sort of fruity drink Sanji had just made.

You were a new Straw Hat, having only recently joined the crew in the New World. You had almost cried when Luffy invited you on board, saying he liked you and that you were his friend. It was nice to feel so welcomed by someone like him, not to mention the rest of the crew quickly made you feel at home.

You loved hearing about all the adventures they went on back in Paradise, as well as East Blue, and you often sought out Nami or Robin to tell you more of their stories. If all of them, they described Luffy as being full of life and always happy. Which was still true, but you couldn’t help but notice that there was something off. Sometimes, late at night, you would wake to get a glass of water and find Luffy sitting on the figure head staring out at sea. It wasn’t rare for him to do that, but you had figured Luffy would be the first one to bed most nights. And the way he never reacted when you called his name, almost as if he was so absorbed in his own world, he didn’t notice anyone else there.

Nami had briefly explained to you about how losing Ace — his older brother — had had a huge impact on him, and she was sure he hadn’t fully recovered from it. It made your heart ache unbearably, you couldn’t imagine the pain he was going through even still, two years later. You wanted nothing more than to comfort Luffy, hold him close and tell him that everything was okay, and whenever Ace was right now, he was still proud of his younger brother.

Of course, you never expressed this to anyone. It would be much too awkward, and you really didn’t want anyone else to know about the embarrassingly large crush you had on your captain. Despite your best attempts to hide your infatuation, Nami and Robin were much more perceptive than they let on and had almost immediately called you out on it. Since then, both of them had taken turns trying to get you to confess, saying they were absolutely sure that Luffy felt the same — to which you called their bluff — and how cute the two of you would look together. Despite how many times you told them no, they persisted.

“So, [Y/N]. When are you going to tell Luffy?” Nami hummed, taking a sip from her drink as she eyed you mischievously. Robin gave you a knowing smirk, sipping her drink casually as well. You felt your cheeks warm, immediately bringing your own drink up to hide your face.

“I’ve got no idea what your talking about, Nami.” You smiled, staring down at the light blue coloured liquid in your glass. You cringed at the smell — alcohol wasn’t your preferred drink — but you gave it a taste regardless. Luckily, the fruity sweetness easily overpowered the bitter alcohol, which you were thankful for. You caught both Nami and Robin exchanging a look, before both of their almost predatory gazes were set back on you. Nami sighed before she spoke:

“You know, if you keep letting this go on, someone else might just come along and swoop him up. I heard Boa Hancock’s had her eyes on Luffy for the longest time.”

You felt jealousy boil in the pit of your stomach at the mention of the one and only Pirate Empress. The woman was beautiful, absolutely stunning and incredibly charismatic. And while it was true, she was crazy about Luffy, you weren’t sure Luffy felt the same. Luffy was always so oblivious when it came to feelings and relationships, so he easily could have friend zoned her without even thinking. You would be lying if you said you weren’t happy about that.

“Maybe I shouldn’t get in the way of that then. Boa has more of a shot with him than I do. She’s got more connection and more power, not to mention she’s incredibly beautiful.” You spoke sadly, staring down into the now seemingly bottomless pit of your drink.

“Oh, cut it out. Sure, Boa’s the Pirate Empress or whatever, but she doesn’t know Luffy like you do. Nor do I think Luffy would ever be interested in her like that.” Nami scoffed, her tone quickly becoming angry and she made a move to scold to you, only to be stopped by Robin. Nami breathed out another sigh, calming herself down for a moment.

“Look, [Y/N], Robin and I are almost positive Luffy likes you. It’s so obvious.” Nami stated, looking to Robin to back her up. Robin gave a nod, taking another taste of her drink. She dragged the silence out for as long as she could, in typical Robin fashion, before she smiled at you.

“Nami is right. Luffy seems much more relaxed when the two of you hang out together. It’s also impossible to miss the way he looks at you all the time.” Your eyes widened and you were sure your blush had now spread to your ears. Her words shook you slightly, yet you still refused to believe her. You shook your head vigorously, downing your drink and making up an excuse to leave. You heard Nami call out after you, but you refused to listen.

You headed back to your room, deciding it was a good time to turn in for the night. You sighed as you sat down on the edge of your bed. Maybe Nami and Robin were right. Maybe Luffy did like you. But you know that he was still struggling to cope with the death of his brother that he wouldn’t be any where near ready for a relationship, and you certainly didn’t want to force him into something he couldn’t deal with. With a groan, you fell back onto your bed, letting your eyes slowly close.  
You awoke only a few hours later, sometime just after midnight. Although this was a regular occurrence, you wouldn’t say you enjoyed having your sleep disturbed so often. You stood from your bed, stretching your arms quickly before you made your way to the door. Heading out onto the deck, you smiled at the peaceful scenery and the cool ocean breeze hitting your skin. Nothing looked out the ordinary. Glancing up at the crow’s nest and seeing the light pour out the windows, you assumed Zoro was up there doing some late night training as he was on lookout.

You headed up the stairs and into the kitchen, grabbing the glass of water Sanji usually let out for you. He knew you often ended up wandering into the kitchen late at night, and you were thankful that he always thought to leave a glass out for you. He got mad at you the first few nights you were on the ship because he thought you were trying to break into the fridge to get Luffy some food.

Leaving the kitchen in favour of standing out on the deck to watch the waves — a favourite pastime of yours — you caught sight of your captain’s familiar straw hat peaking over the top of the Sunny figure head. You shook your head, turning back into the kitchen to grab another glass and fill it with water. You made your way over to the front of the ship, gazing up at the figure you could just barely make out. Although Luffy was extremely perceptive and aware of his surroundings, he seemed so out of it now. It made your heart hurt; truth be told.

“Luffy?” You called quietly, loud enough that he might hear you but still not enough to wake anyone else or disturb Zoro. He didn’t respond, so you called his name a few more times before he finally took notice of you. He beamed down at you, a bright grin that sent your heart astir with butterflies. How he managed to have that effect on you every single time, you would never know.

“[Y/N]! What are you doing awake?” He laughed lightly, discreetly trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. You noticed but chose to ignore it in favour of not stressing him more than he already was. You smiled up at him, gesturing one cup of water towards him. He seemed to understand immediately and before you knew it, you were sitting on the figure head next to him. You would never get over how weird and scary it felt to have him pull you up like that.

You handed him the glass and the two of you sat in comfortable silence together. You thought long and hard during the silence, figuring now was a better time than ever to ask him if need someone to talk to. You were careful in planning out what you were going to say — you really didn’t want to upset him any further or make him angry with you.

“Luffy…” you began, letting out a quiet breath. You noticed his head tilt towards you slightly but other than that he didn’t speak. “Is there… anything you wanna talk about? I’m worried about you. You’ve just seemed so out of it for the past little while. I just want you to know that I’ll always be here for you. And so will everyone else.”

You spoke quickly, stumbling over your words slightly, careful not to overstep your boundaries. Luffy didn’t speak, he only continued to stare out at the water. You thought you had struck and nerve and moved to excuse yourself when Luffy stopped you.

“It’s hard. Knowing that I was right there with him and there was nothing I could do to save my own brother. I was so mad at myself for being so weak, for being so stupid. I could have saved him if I was stronger, you know? I could have prevented so much.

Sometimes I… Sometimes I come out here and I just stare out at the horizon, thinking it was all just a bad dream. And maybe if I wait long enough, he’ll come riding over the horizon on his striker and everything will be fine again. I think I’m wishing for too much though.”

The tone of his voice, which held so much sadness and so much self hatred, the way his own eyes glossed over as he thought back to what happened. All of it was enough to bring tears to your own eyes, but you knew better than to openly cry over something that was probably much harder on someone else. 

You couldn’t find a way to bring your thoughts to words, you brain stuttering as you tried to not cry. All you could was reach out, grabbing Luffy’s in yours, holding it close to your chest. The only thing you could think to mutter was _“I’m so sorry, Luffy.”_

Your captain laughed, shaking his head lightly. He didn’t say anything more, nor did you, but you felt him place something on your head. Looking up, your vision was blocked by an all too familiar straw hat. Pushing it up gently, you locked eyes with Luffy as he stared down at you. His eyes — still glossy from thinking about Ace — held so much emotion in them you could barely even comprehend. Yet he still smiled. He smiled so brightly your heart felt like it was bursting straight out of your chest.

“It’s okay… I’ve got you to protect now, [Y/N]! As well as everyone else! I won’t let the people I love get hurt again, I promise!” Luffy declared vehemently, one fist raised into the air, the other now coddling your cheek, his thumb brushing away a stray tear you hadn’t even noticed escaped. 

Luffy beamed down at you again and you knew, in that moment, Nami and Robin had been right. (Not that you would ever admit it to them.)

Luffy had you, and the crew, and all his friends he made on his journey. And he would protect them with his life.


End file.
